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Friday, October 15, 2004
Polling Challenges and Plenty of Fraud
I don't know if Pennsylvania still has the law keeping liquor stores and bars closed until after the polls close. And I don't know if Ohio has a similar law. I believe the intent was to keep people from being bought lots of drinks as a bribe to then vote for a particular candidate. Well, I'm not taking any chances. I'm stocking up early.
This is going to be ugly. As I blogged yesterday, lots of people will be hanging out in precincts.
Election monitors, election challengers and election lawyers - from across America and around the world - are headed to the Buckeye State. Add campaigners, pollsters, extra poll workers and reporters from around the country and you've got a crowd. They're coming our way because Ohio could be the battleground state that decides who will be America's next president. And it has already had enough controversy - about punch-card machines, voter registration cards and provisional ballots - to win "The State Most Likely to be the Florida of the 2004 Election" award. "We've got a lot of problems here," says Dan Tokaji, a voting rights lawyer and law professor at Ohio State University. "And we're a key swing state. Both of those are very good reasons for people to be focusing on Ohio." The ultimate goal is to leave the vote up to voters and prevent the kind of legal action that forced the U.S. Supreme Court to choose America's president in 2000. Expect the most election overseers in Ohio's eight or so largest cities, including Cleveland.
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In a few polling places in Ohio you could also see international election monitors - from Ghana, India, Mexico and Australia. "Our goal has always been to increase public confidence in the U.S. elections," said Karen Decker, program director for Fair Election International, a human-rights organization that observes elections overseas. That group hopes to send two delegates each to Cuyahoga and Franklin counties to visit polling places and oversee the tabulation of votes on election night, though details haven't been firmed up. In Cuyahoga County, the elections board is hiring an inspector - one additional worker - for every polling place to make sure no election laws are violated and help voters find their correct precincts. The inspectors will also make sure the poll watchers stay at least 100 feet away from the polling place, as required by law, and that they don't get in the way of voters.
Have I mentioned how disgusted I am that there are partisans who are so desperate to win this election that they will try to drag down the entire US electoral system to do so? No? Well now you know.
Look, I voted Gore. He lost. What happened with the "confusing" punch cards was not part of some VRWC . The ballot was put together by a county board of elections that was under majority Democrat control. Gore's own party screwed up. Besides, I've always felt that if Gore couldn't even win his own home state of Tennessee (which would have made Florida moot), then he didn't deserve to win.
I don't even want to bring 2000 up, but it seems like every challenge and cry of disenfranchisement and court case is all hovering under the shadow of Florida in 2000.
As for the Fair Election International. They naturally claim to be non-partisan. But when you are a "project" of Global Exchange, a group that writes things like this:
The World Trade Organization is the most powerful legislative and judicial body in the world. By promoting the "free trade" agenda of multinational corporations above the interests of local communities, working families, and the environment, the WTO has systematically undermined democracy around the world. Right, and how would they characterize the Seattle riots in 1999 outside of the WTO meetings:
In November 1999, 50,000 people went to Seattle to challenge this corporate agenda and to demand a more democratic, socially just and environmentally sustainable global economy. The protests succeeded in shutting down the trade talks and derailing another round of corporate-managed trade agreements. And they are going to be the organizing group for observing the US elections. Well, if Bush wins, then at least the far left will have a whole new set of "facts" to base their next claims of how Bush stole the elections.
Meanwhile the county board of elections are still processing new voter registrations.
The Summit County Board of Elections staff has been working 24 hours a day to process an unprecedented increase in new voter registrations.
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Schmidt said the board started the year with 342,000 registered voters. Since then it's purged the names of 17,000 who hadn't been to the polls for a total of eight years and removed still others who died, moved or had been convicted of felonies. Then it added 50,000 new registrants. That brings the new grand total to 364,200. Another factor in the uptick in work is a surge of requests for absentee ballots. More than 22,000 people already have asked to vote absentee this year, a 22 percent increase over the last presidential election. But with 19 days to go, Schmidt expects to get a lot more requests.
Ohio Counties are going to see their boards of elections blow out the budget this year. Not just in this part, but in the counting and recounting -- especially if the provisional ballot ruling stands.
Now for the voter and petition fraud updates.
Let's start with absentee ballots.
Lake County officials said Thursday that more than half of the 111 applicants disqualified from casting absentee ballots in the Nov. 2 election told investigators they were misled by the volunteers who registered them. Lake Prosecutor Charles Coulson said some applicants claimed they were told by political canvassers that they were signing up to put a political sign in their yard, supporting a specific candidate or simply getting permission to vote from home. Forms signed by the applicants, however, were each labeled "Application for Absent Voter's Ballot" in bold print at the top, records show. Coulson and Sheriff Dan Dunlap investigated 152 absentee voter applications and 18 first-time voter registrations at the request of the Lake elections board. Additionally, they have found fake voter registrations in Lake County. Right now the number is around 18, and ACT Ohio swears they will be "vindicated."
In Summit County, the gay marriage ban referendum and Nader's petitions share a lot of common ground.
As Summit County sheriff's deputies search for a suspected forger in a petition drive for an amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Ohio, the activities of a second circulator have come into question. In addition, three of the circulators who participated in what a federal judge called substantial and widespread fraud to get presidential hopeful Ralph Nader on the ballot in Ohio also turned in several anti-gay-marriage petitions to the Summit County Board of Elections. It is unknown whether these five circulators turned in petitions anywhere else. Akron's Nicole Jones said she was surprised to get a letter from Republican former state Rep. Twyla Roman thanking her for signing the petition to put the same-sex-marriage ban on the Nov. 2 ballot. Jones, 19, said she signed a petition, but she was told it was to get more scholarship money for college students. "I am a prime candidate for financial aid," she said Thursday. "So I signed it." When a Beacon Journal reporter showed her the petition to ban same-sex marriage with her name on it, she immediately acknowledged it as the one she had signed. But she said she wouldn't have signed it if she had known it was a petition against gay marriage.
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The three circulators who also turned in petitions for Nader's candidacy were paid by the signature by the same Florida company -- JSM Inc. -- that was hired to collect signatures for the same-sex-marriage question.
The three also were paid as much as $2 per signature for their marriage-amendment petitions. They used the same apparently phony Ohio addresses on their same-sex-marriage petitions as on their Nader petitions. And it was these addresses that led to their Nader petitions' being thrown out after a state investigator determined the circulators were not Ohio residents. It was among the reasons Nader was denied a place on the state's ballot. James Lee, spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, said that although Ohio law doesn't require that circulators of initiatives such as the marriage petition be registered to vote in Ohio, it is unknown whether the circulators' use of apparently false Ohio addresses jeopardizes whatever petitions they gathered statewide for the marriage amendment.
It seems unlikely that they can keep the amendment off the ballot, but it would be nice.
This keeps getting uglier. Remember, don't just vote early and often. Drink heavily.
Ohio Election -- Provisional Chaos
The US District Court in the Northern District of Ohio, Toledo branch has ruled that Ohio's provisional ballots can be cast by voters at the wrong precinct. The decision can be read here (PDF). Ohio Secretary of State Blackwell has already filed an appeal to the 6th District Court of Appeals.
Blackwell issued a statement calling Carr's decision a misinterpretation of the 2002 law. "On Tuesday," Blackwell said, "a federal court in Missouri reaffirmed our understanding of HAVA and contradicted Judge Carr's interpretation. "In addition, the bipartisan Federal Election Assistance Commission, in a resolution issued Tuesday, acknowledged that Ohio's provisional ballot law -- which is shared by 27 other states -- is in compliance with the Help America Vote Act," Blackwell said.
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Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have adopted the view that a provisional ballot must be cast in the correct precinct, or it will not count. For those bias watchers, the Plain Dealer fails to mention the number of other jurisdictions that do provisional ballots like Ohio.
Of course, the Missouri case (here in PDF thanks to Edward Still of VoteLaw) is merely persuasive since it is in another federal district and under a different court of appeal so Blackwell is stretching things a bit in his statement.
<>As for the second part, that is true. Whether that will help or not on appeal is anyone's guess. As for the Missouri case, the district court did comment on it.
The defendant has called attention to Hawkins v. Blunt, Case No. 04-4177-CV-C-RED (W.D. Mo.Oct. 12, 2004), contending that that decision controls the outcome of the dispute over the meaning of the term "jurisdiction" and whether a voter can vote in a precinct other than his or her home precinct. In Hawkins, the court held that requiring unlisted voters, on being told where their home precinct polling place was located, to go to that precinct was permissible, and that a voter?s refusal to do so would result in a provisional ballot cast elsewhere not being counted. It also held that requiring a voter to affirm that he or she is eligible to vote at the
particular polling place is not impermissible.
The Missouri provisional balloting system, unlike Ohio's under Directive 2004-33, otherwise complied with HAVA, and was not being challenged. The court in Hawkins indicated that a blanket refusal to count any ballots cast elsewhere than a voter?s home precinct probably would conflict with HAVA. Citing the flexibility given to state officials by HAVA, the court concluded that neither the terms nor intent of HAVA were violated by refusing to count ballots cast by persons who, though informed of the location of their home precinct, refused to go there to vote.
Directive 2004-33, in addition to its other defects (derived, ultimately, from its complete failure to take cognizance of HAVA), does not qualify its expressed prohibition against issuing any out-of-district ballots.
The decision in Hawkins is thus distinguishable: Missouri, unlike Ohio, had attempted, and largely succeeded in bringing its provisional voting procedures in line with HAVA. The court in Hawkins focused on one aspect of those procedures, finding the narrow grounds on which provisional ballots were not to be counted acceptable under HAVA. In Ohio, in contrast, the prohibition on issuing out-of-precinct ballots is absolute and unqualified. Thus, even under Hawkins, Directive 2004-33 contravenes HAVA with regard to that prohibition.
To the extent that my interpretation of HAVA does not accord with that of the Judge in Hawkins, I believe that my examination of the statute?s language, which that Judge was not called on to undertake, represents a correct interpretation of the statute.
In any event, I am not persuaded that there is a substantial likelihood that voters, once informed of their home precinct (and, as they can be, of the effect on any vote cast for a local, county, or state issue), will insist on voting provisionally in the out-of-district precinct. Overall, few if any voters would appear to be within the category covered even by Hawkins: namely, those who deliberately refuse to go to their home precinct.
If Hawkins is a correct interpretation of HAVA on the narrow question before that court, its ultimate impact, in terms of uncast ballots, is probably very slight. That interpretation, in any event, does not alter the fact that Directive 2004-33, by completely ignoring HAVA, does nothing to bring Ohio?s provisional voting procedures into compliance with HAVA. That circumstance is what compels the decision, and injunction, in this case; and this decision and injunction are otherwise well grounded and well founded, even if, on this single issue, Hawkins were on point and controlling. I haven't read the Hawkins case, so I don't know how accurate the characterization of the case actually is.
The court was willing only to limit provisional ballots to the county. So if you are registered in Lake you can't vote in Cuyahoga. I already indicated that I agreed with the Secretary of State on this. A quick skim of the case doesn't convince me I'm wrong.
The court is basically saying that the federal law forces the state to count all ballots at the county level for federal elections, but doesn't offer much of a rationale for why it sets the limit there other than the fact that that is the place where registrations are recorded. The court is essentially saying that the federal law requires counties and the state to bear the costs of counting and verifying the votes are in the right place and catch possible fraud, with little or no responsibility on the voter.
This also means that if the election is as close as expected in Ohio, we won't be sure of the results for days and the legal challenges might as well begin now.
US House -- LaTourette vs. Cafaro
If there was a week for Capri Cafaro to make this a close race, this is it. Last week Salon.com did a hit piece on Rep. LaTourette (written by an actual Democratic consultant) naming the name of the woman with whom he had an affair and then left his wife over. It was picked up by the mainstream media. While she was never named, prior, it was widely known that she was a DC lobbyist. In fact, due to the ethics rules of the House, LaTourette needed to get permission to sleep at her house (considered free lodging under ethics rules) and now the Ohio Democratic Party is filing a complaint with the Justice Department in what can only be described as classic sleaze.
Dan Trevas, spokesman for the party, said the request for the probe was based in part upon photographs the party received of LaTourette leaving Laptook's Virginia home early in the morning and of him using her car. Trevas said the photographs came from a private investigator whom he declined to identify. He said the private investigator did not act upon the direction of the Ohio Democratic Party.
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Mike Cook, spokesman for Cafaro, said that Cafaro did not hire the private investigator.
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LaTourette said he requested and received a waiver from the House Ethics Committee to accept gifts from Laptook in late 2003. He also said he received a second waiver from the committee in February 2004 that allowed him not to disclose gifts from Laptook, such as free lodging or use of her car, on his congressional financial disclosure statement. LaTourette said that Laptook has never lobbied him directly and has not lobbied the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, where he is a ranking member. So we have a mysteriously hired private investigator providing photos for the Democrats, but no one is talking. It is unclear how much this is hurting LaTourette. Living in the his district, there doesn't seem to be much hand-wringing over this. Like I said, this is essentially old news except for finally naming the lady's name.
For Cafaro, this should be her opening. She got a piece in the Sunday Cleveland Plain Dealer. She also got a big cover story in the local alt-weekly. The piece was generally positive to her. Both pieces, though mention her own shady dealings. Being a Cafaro tied to Youngstown and Jim Traficant.
In 1999, Cafaro was named president of her father's newest venture: USAerospace Group. On J.J.'s insistence, the Cafaro family had recently acquired a patent to new, laser-guided aircraft technology that was supposed to help jets navigate landings. With congressional and Federal Aviation Administration backing, the system could rake in millions. But until that support came, the Virginia-based company was hemorrhaging money. In an apparent attempt to speed up the approval process, J.J. leaned heavily on his then-friend Traficant, the notorious Youngstown congressman. In exchange for Traficant's lobbying efforts, Cafaro agreed to hand over $13,000 in cash to Traficant and spend $27,000 to purchase and repair a dilapidated boat that Traficant owned but no longer wanted.
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Rumors at the time suggested the money Cafaro confessed to giving Traficant actually had nothing to do with USAerospace, but rather was intended to ensure Traficant's support of Capri in a future election. "There was talk that the Cafaros were going to support Jim for senator or governor, so the [House of Representatives] seat would open for Capri," says Bill Binning, head of the Youngstown State political science department and former leader of the Trumbull County GOP. In a pretrial hearing, Traficant himself got the Mahoning County commissioner to admit that he believed J.J. had been greasing Traficant for an endorsement of Capri in a possible 2002 bid for Congress. (The lead prosecutor countered that the notion was absurd.) Prosecutors granted immunity to Capri in exchange for testimony against her father's former partner. Traficant was sentenced to eight years in prison. J.J. Cafari was given 15 months' probation and a $150,000 fine. USAerospace folded, and Capri started her own public-relations firm in Washington. The Feds never revealed whether she had been targeted for investigation. "Capri was never charged with anything, but the question is always asked -- 'Was she just a figurehead in a company that her father owned, or did she have day-to-day responsibility? If she had day-to-day responsibilities and was not aware what was going on, then what exactly was she doing?'" says de Souza. When asked today about her involvement with USAerospace, Capri responds grimly, "I am not responsible for my father's actions. I was the lone dissenting voice while I was there, but the dissensions fell on deaf ears. Ultimately, I was not the decision-maker. My dad was the one with the financial decision-making power." Still, says David Porter, a Youngstown political consultant and Cafaro's former professor at Youngstown State, "The family name and its association with Traficant gives her a presumption of corruption." Of course this means she was just a figure head at her father's company which counters her claims to experience. Never fully explained by Capri Cafaro.
As for the notion of her taking Traficant's seat eventually, well there was the testimony:
Ludt (shown at left at a Mahoning Valley event last year) told the jury the meeting was called by Youngstown businessman and prosecution witness John J. Cafaro, and was held at Youngstown restaurant Anthony's On-The-River, site of the so-called Cafaro Roundtable. The political gatherings became controversial last summer in a bizarre series of events that culminated with the mayor of Youngstown calling 9-1-1 to report a possible sniper threatening those in attendance. The alleged sniper turned out to be political activist spying on one of the gatherings.
The meeting Ludt attended was also attended by Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112 at General Motors Lordstown, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William T. Bodoh, Common Pleas Judge Joseph Vukovich, attorney Don Hanni Jr., and Cafaro's daughter, Capri, Ludt said.
On the menu was a discussion of state and local politics, but the actual purpose was "the announcement of Cafaro's daughter seeking the 17th district [congressional] position," Ludt recounted, which is the seat held by Traficant.
During his testimony three weeks ago, Cafaro admitted that his daughter had considered running for Congress. Capri Cafaro has also admitted as much, but realized that the present holder of the seat has too strong of a support of the unions for her to challenge him.
Cafaro has managed to avoid talking about Traficant, her testimony, and immunity from prosecution. The fact that even the nicest pieces have to mention it, though, tells you how much it sticks to her.
Still, she has made progress, given the uphill battle she had just to get the Democratic nomination -- yes she spent a lot of money, but the entrenched party interests and name recognition were against her.
Still she has gotten in trouble for exaggerating her resume:
A Cafaro campaign flier states "While some candidates talk about being able to work with elected officials on both sides of the aisle, Capri has already done it. During her eight years in Washington, Capri worked for Democrat and Republican senators. Capri focused on health care, education and Social Security issues." According to Cafaro's testimony from a 2003 trial in U.S. District Court in Cleveland involving a former colleague, she said she worked in 1996 and 1997 in an unpaid, "internship type of situation in the press office of both Sen. Kennedy and Sen. D'Amato." Cafaro said Tuesday the flier is not meant to suggest she worked eight years for U.S. senators, but is meant to note that during the eight years she lived in the Washington, D.C., area she spent a part of that time working for senators. Funny thing. The, uh, misleading information is still on her "Bio" page of her site. The other interesting thing, is that the Scene article says she worked for "a year in the office of Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-Delaware), a close family friend," not Sen. Ted Kennedy. I wonder which is the accurate story.
The funny thing is LaTourette is vulnerable. A lot of stuff has connections to him have become scandals. Yet, I'm not sure it has mattered.
Cafaro may be working hard, and may make this a close race, but I don't think she will win.
Another candidate with less baggage might have had a shot, because they could go directly at LaTourette's ethical and moral scandals. Cafaro, though, has had to be careful not to or else everything she has in her past becomes fair game.
I just don't think she has enough time now.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
We Have How Long Until the Election?
A little less than 3 weeks, and I am starting to think that the media around here along with the special interest groups and the Democrats and Republicans have changed their minds and want to drive down election turnout. Today, a variety of stories to convince the strongest-willed souls not to bother even trying to vote.
Ohio school districts fear that a big Nov. 2 turnout at school polling places could disrupt classes and put students at risk. Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools even held a news conference Wednesday to outline security plans that include having PTA members direct traffic and keep voters in the designated polling area.
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In Cuyahoga County, elections officials asked police to increase patrols around polling places, but said they don't want uniformed officers to stand guard for fear of scaring would-be voters. "We explained that they would have to be visible, but not intimidating," said Gwen Dillingham, the county's deputy elections director. Why would there be concerns? In what is shaping up to be an ugly partisan election? Well how about an obscure, bizarre 1953 law that could easily lead to fisticuffs.
Democrats and Republicans plan to invoke a little-used 1953 state law to put challengers at the polls -- a move that could create additional mayhem Nov. 2.The action comes at a time when poll workers already are expected to be strained by confusion over provisional ballots and a glut of newly registered voters. The move has sent elections officials scrambling to set up rules to keep order at the polls if challengers are there.
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[Bryan] Williams[, director of the Summit County Board of Elections,] said that Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell issued election boards a directive regarding challengers. Voters can be challenged on four issues: citizenship, age, not being a resident of the state for 30 days prior to the election, and not being a resident of the county or precinct where the voter is attempting to cast a ballot. Once a challenge is made, Williams said, it's up to the poll worker serving as presiding judge to determine whether the voter can cast a ballot. "Under Ohio law, the presiding judge has the authority to make the decision. But this happens so rarely, there is no 'usually,' " he said. Williams said that in response to the "rumors and rumblings" that dueling challengers will be at the polls, board staffers are developing a list of rules for how challengers must behave and how poll workers should deal with them. It probably will include such directions as: "Don't talk to anyone unless you are making challenges," Williams said. Poll workers also will get lessons in how to deal with challengers and challenges when they get their training, which starts Monday, he said. Both the Republican and Democratic Parties are rationalizing their planned usage and accusing the other of starting it.
If that isn't enough to make you roll your eyes and consider voting Libertarian or Green, the special interest groups are sounding the trumpets of premature disenfranchisement. Promising chaos to reign.
Cleveland NAACP President George Forbes said Wednesday that Cuyahoga County is so unprepared to deal with the deluge of new registered voters that it could have "utter chaos" on Election Day. Forbes said at a news conference that the county needs 500 more voting machines. He also wants to recruit hundreds of lawyers to help monitor the election and assist voters. Some of Forbes' complaints, however, may have been premature. He said during his news conference that polling places could be so overwhelmed by new voters, many of whom are concentrated in predominantly black precincts, that some will leave the polls in frustration without casting ballots. "It will be a debacle on Election Day if nothing is done," he said. But Michael Vu, Cuyahoga County's election director, said his staff is well organized and ready to handle Election Day problems. <> Vu pointed out that the board has 8,900 machines, or about one machine for every 111 registered voters. Earlier in the day, Forbes had said one machine for every 200 voters was acceptable.
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The NAACP also wants to recruit 500 volunteer lawyers to help offset anticipated voter confusion. The lawyers would be posted at 142 predominantly black polling places in Cleveland's East Side neighborhoods and East Cleveland, which have seen dramatic increases in new voters. "We're asking for black lawyers in particular and white lawyers in general," he said. Forbes said the lawyers would intercede on behalf of voters when poll workers say they aren't eligible to vote. The flood of new voter registrations increases the potential for error on voter rolls.
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Vu said the NAACP's volunteer attorneys can show up at voting locations as long as they remain 100 feet from the polls, as required by law. I'm almost starting to think that the Democrats and the special interest groups that are backing them strongly are trying to make the election as chaotic as possible so that if Kerry loses they can claim more fraud and disenfranchisement were the reasons not that Bush actually won.
The NAACP and other interest groups are working this angle under an umbrella group of People for the American Way called the Election Protection Coalition. They are specifically targeting minority-heavy precincts in swing states.
The coalition is recruiting 25,000 volunteers across the country to serve as nonpartisan poll watchers and provide legal advice at 3,500 precincts in 17 states, including Ohio. The coalition aims to have monitors in precincts with heavy minority populations in seven Ohio cities. In addition to Akron, the urban areas of Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Youngstown, Cleveland and Dayton are thought to be where voters are most likely to be disenfranchised. Monitors will stand outside precincts and distribute state-specific voter's bills of rights, offering to help voters who are turned away or blocked from voting and keeping track of problems that crop up. Monitors can go further if issues can't be resolved on site, contacting coalition attorneys or law student volunteers through a special hot line or intervening directly with boards of elections. "Nonpartisan pollwatchers?" Here are the coalition members. Nonpartisan is hardly the word that comes to mind looking at that list.
Maybe an absentee ballot wouldn't be such a bad idea to avoid all this crap.
What He Said and Make It a Double
It's why, other than for sports, the TV hasn't been on much in the evenings
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Ohio Election -- Reduced Choices
Bye- bye, Ralph.
A federal judge in Columbus refused Tuesday to place independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the Ohio ballot because the campaign's petition circulators committed "widespread'' and "substantial'' fraud.
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In his opinion, U.S. Judge Edmund Sargus declined to address the issue of whether a state law requiring collectors to be registered Ohio voters and state residents is a constitutional violation of free-speech rights because Nader "failed to meet a threshold requirement for this Court to even consider the constitutional issue.'' Namely, Sargus ruled that "the magnitude of the fraud (committed by the circulators is) far too great for this court to consider granting... in the plaintiffs' favor.'' The Democrats spent a lot of money and time to get this win. Pity they didn't spend half as much on trying to get the Ohio gay marriage ban amendment off the ballot. Especially considering the same firm that collected Nader signatures was also involved in the other petition that got the issue on the ballot.
Eastlake -- The Other Election
Lost in the overwrought drama that is this Presidential election, are the numerous and probably more important local elections. These are the things that really affect the day-to-day life. Not much has been happening in Eastlake lately. There are 6 candidates vying for the job of Mayor. The local League of Women Voters asked each candidate one question and has posted their responses.
What do you consider the most difficult challenge facing this office and how would you address this challenge? The answer in the short term is the budget deficit and in the long term, the looming debt service for the Eastlake Ballpark. As the city is trying to get out of a budget deficit and the looming payments for the ballpark are likely to eat into the general fund in the next 2-4 years, there can be no other answer. Everyone knows these are the biggest and most important issues for anyone who wants to be involved in Eastlake government.
Only 2 of the candidates actually appeared to be clear-headed enough to say that. Maybe they were the only two who have ideas on how to deal with the problems. The others gave crap answers about restoring trust in government.
There are only a few possible reasons for giving answers like this (and I'm just using it as an example, nothing personal the other 3 candidates response were similar)
Some would say the challenge is purely economics. I believe the challenge is restoring confidence in Eastlake government. Many citizens rightfully feel betrayed. By televising council meetings, proposing charter changes to prevent abuse of power and encouraging teamwork among the Mayor, Council and citizens, we can take Eastlake another mile. One reason for this kind of answer is they just don't have a solution to the problem, but think they can figure it out once they are in charge.
Another possibility is that they know what needs to be done but are afraid to say it.
The third option is that they just don't have a clue what to do, but it sounds good when they heard similar stuff from other people who run elections promising reforms and changes.
The final and worst possible option is that they actually believe what they said and somehow think this will help solve the problem.
This is an election for municipal government. This is about the nuts-and-bolts stuff. Collecting garbage, safety forces, the parks, property values (the biggest and most important asset for most of the population). You want confidence in government restored at a local level? Fix the long and short term budget problems. Keep real property values strong. Get the garbage collected. Spare everyone the platitudes. Inspiring people at this level will come from solving problems and offering solutions.
At this level it is leadership and actions first, then the confidence and inspiration follows. You want to do it the other way run for President.
4 For 4
Third Presidential Debate tonight, and including the VP debate, it's the fourth time there are games I'd rather watch. Got Game 2 of the Red Sox-Yankees, Game 1 Astros-Cardinals, and I may even keep tabs on the WVU-UConn football game.
Let's be honest. Have I really missed anything? I don't think so.
Aiding the Team America Publicity Machine
I admit to being juiced to see this movie. Sad commentary on the state of my beloved Pitt Panthers that I am more excited at the prospect of seeing this flick than my team play BC for the last time on Saturday. I can't help it, especially when you come across things like this:
"We have a very specific beef with Michael Moore," Stone said. "I did an interview, and he didn't mischaracterize me or anything I said in the movie. But what he did do was put this cartoon right after me that made it look like we did that cartoon."
Parker and Stone still harbor hard feelings about that sassy, anti-gun cartoon because they feel it was done in "South Park" style. They believe the proximity to Stone's interview misled some fans into thinking they had done the cartoon, even though Moore never said they did.
For this slight, Moore's punishment in "Team America" is extreme: he's depicted as a gibbering, overweight, hot-dog eating buffoon who straps explosives to his body to blow up the American do-gooders. The puppet was reportedly stuffed with ham when it blew. Brian Doherty of Reason has a review of the movie (some spoilers as he discusses how it offends everyone), and there is also an interview with Stone and Parker at Salon.com (premium content or sit through an ad), but here's part (via Hit & Run)
Do you ever feel like you cover your asses too much by taking on targets on opposing sides? Parker: I don't think so, because we do take somewhat of a stand at the end. I mean, I believe we do make a point at the end of the movie. Some people consider that point to be fairly right-wing, and some people consider it to be fairly left-wing ... What do you think that point is? Parker: [Laughs] The thing is, obviously, we're not setting out to make a movie going, Look, America, this is how you should run things, this is how it should be. Because then we'd be no better than the fucking actors we hate. But the only thing that we assert is that there's a difference between dicks and assholes. That's the biggest thing that we assert. Stone: That's such a strong political statement. Parker: And it really kinda is! Because that's the thing that we realized when we were making the movie. It was always the hardest thing. We wanted to deal with this emotion of being hated as an American. That was the thing that was intriguing to us, and having Gary (the main character) deal with that emotion. And so, him becoming ashamed to be a part of Team America and being ashamed of himself, he comes to realize that, just as he got his brother killed by gorillas -- he didn't kill his brother; he was a dick, he wasn't an asshole -- so too does America have this role in the world as a dick. Cops are dicks, you fucking hate cops, but you need 'em. Can't wait.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Absentee Ballots
Not a lot of local news on election fraud, and I'm not sure if that is good or bad. The number of absentee ballots requested this year looks to be off the charts. Seems to be a bipartisan effort in most areas.
Statewide get-out-the-vote campaigns by Democratic-leaning nonprofit organizations like America Coming Together,Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Bring Ohio Back and MoveOn.org, have boosted not only voter registration totals but absentee ballot requests.
"It's definitely a trend that's happening nationally. There's been a big push from America Coming Together and the Republican Party. They're doing massive mailers to selected constituents,'' said Michael Vu, director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Vu said tracking of absentee ballot applications in his county shows that 18,702 came from America Coming Together, while 7,041 were provided by the Republican Party. Vu said he expects absentee ballot requests in Cuyahoga to exceed 100,000 this year. His office already has begun mailing the more than 66,000 absentee ballots that voters there have so far requested. Not to mention the increased number of new registrants for voting. New voter registration ended on October 4, and requests for absentee ballots can be as late as October 30 (if received by the county board of election by that date). We probably won't start getting an idea of how much fraud on registration for another week or so -- because of the backlog in processing -- and absentee ballots will be an ongoing headache.
One More Reason
For me to go see Team America when it opens this weekend. Sean Penn is being a self-righteous ass.
I do mind when anybody who doesn't have a child, doesn't have a child at war, or isn't or won't be in harm's way themselves, is encouraging that there's "no shame in not voting" "if you don't know what you're talking about" (Mr. Stone) without mentioning the shame of not knowing what your talking about, and encouraging people to know. You guys are talented young guys but alas, primarily young guys. It's all well to joke about me or whomever you choose. Not so well, to encourage irresponsibility that will ultimately lead to the disembowelment, mutilation, exploitation, and death of innocent people throughout the world. The vote matters to them. No one's ignorance, indcluding a couple of hip cross-dressers, is an excuse. I'm trying to remember the George Carlin rant about not voting being a good thing from a decade or so ago.
But by all means, Sean, you're right. All commentary must be fair and balanced with the correct perspective and slant put forward. Thank you for clearing up any misperceptions about having a different opinion.
Actually, here's some stuff from Parker and Stone,
On this week's 60 Minutes Wednesday, which features an interview with the Team America masterminds, Stone lets loose on Penn. "It's funny to take...activist actors and...elevate them to the level to what they think they are in their minds," Stone tells 60 Minutes correspondent Vicki Mabrey. "When Sean Penn is on TV before the Iraq War talking about the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...that is pure comic gold. I don't care what side of the aisle you're on." Both Stone and Parker seem to have it in for the Oscar winner. Parker told Variety last year when he announced plans to make Team America, "We hate those actors who take themselves so seriously and think they are a productive and important part of society. The subtle joke here is that all actors are puppets. This will probably piss off everyone in town--and might well be our swan song." Will have to see that Saturday right after the BC-Pitt game.
Travel Days
Family road trip. Went to see the wife's brother and his family. They live on the other side of Ohio, west of Dayton and a couple miles from the Indiana border. Good trip for all. Angie Had a great visit with her cousins who are all within a few years of her age. Got back yesterday evening and just unpacked and relaxed. For the most part I stayed off the computer except to check football scores.
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